Shroud of Ardala
by Tsuana
Summary: A teenage boy is found far from home with no history, no family, just his name; "Hiccup". He is wounded and must try and make a life for himself if he can first survive his injuries and maybe then work out a way to figure out who he was before coming to this place. Rated T for blood. I drew the cover image with no blood so as to not offend :)
1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

**My first fan fiction to be published on this site. I have not written anything in years and I can't promise this will be a regular upload because I am a college student with a lot on my plate, but if you like it, be patient with me and this story will be the only one I work on until it is finished**. **This is a short introduction before the chapter work really begins. **

**Chapter 1: Revelations in the Dark**

His head swam with something not quite resembling consciousness. At first, all he could see were misty shapes in muted purples and faded greens that gave off an ethereal scent as if they were just one more part of the boy's fragmented dreams. It was about that time when slowly but surely the pain came. Dull and acute at first, then steadily building until it had become more tangible then the place he now found himself lying broken and alone. His vision cleared enough that the boy could only stare blankly at the scene around him as if he was watching it unfold through the eyes of someone else. He was lying in a field of some sort; purple flowers on green stalks which had yielded to the boy, flattening and breaking around the immediate area where he lay. Through shuddering breaths the boy noticed that he had put his right arm around a sizable wound near his abdomen. Well at least that explained some of the pain. Red liquid still oozed freely from the wound and added more of the boy's contents to the disturbed foliage.

That was certainly hard to understand.

He assumed he was an intelligent boy since despite being wounded and in considerable pain he had deduced that he must have been practically dropped on this sport since the thick flowers should of been more of a casualty. The other fact that made this whole thing stand out was the sheer amount of blood in the grass. He was one boy, small of stature that could not possibly contain this absurd amount of blood. That was when an awful realization pulled at his brain and would have sent him to the verge of panic had he not already started to succumb to oblivion from his numerous injuries. He no longer contained that blood. It was all over the place but not where it should have been inside his body alive and sound. Alive… how much blood can one smallish boy lose before that would no longer apply? He thought he heard footsteps and someone calling his name but it was faraway and muffled.

"Hiccup!" the voice called, but this lead him to more confusion as the world around him gave way to black and unknowing. His last thought as he sank out of the world was, "Who's hiccup?"


	2. Chapter 2- One Week Ago

Chapter 2: One week ago

THUMP, THUD, CRACK

Hiccup looked out through bleary eyes and tried to fathom where he was. I was not like there was much comfort to be had as it was little more than a few wooden slates with a head board, although after a night of violent shivering in the dark ,the blanket which had covered the skinny teen was finally warm.

THUD CRUNCH

"Alright bud, I'm coming." He groaned in a voice that was probably too quiet for the dragon to hear. He swung his legs over one side of his bed and emitted a mighty stretch and a yawn before stumbling down the stairs and out the front door. Hiccup did not even make it all the way to the side of the house before he was assaulted by a tremendous lick from his best friend. "What?! EWE!" he cried and tried to reclaim some of his lost dignity while Toothless looked immensely pleased at this friend's reaction. Once he had recovered sufficiently from the drenching affection of the Night fury, he was able to focus on applying the flight rigging to the dragon so as to go on their morning excursion. Hiccup just managed to get a single foot into the stirrups before he got his second surprise of the morning.

"There you are son! Good, you haven't left yet." Stoic the Vast seemed overly cheerful to see him and Hiccup could feel himself groaning inwardly. His father had been trusting him to go on missions for the benefit of the tribe and while Hiccup knew that they were fairly necessary most of the time and great practice for being chief which he surely would become one day, the missions were getting further and further away from the island and more and more frequent. It felt like the more responsibility he received for the running of what would in essence be 'his village', Hiccup was seeing very little of it in recent months. "I need you to go on an errand for me."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "I knew it." He thought but instead of vocalizing he instead asked, "How far?" He immediately regretted bothering to ask when his father answered with a tone that almost conveyed pride. "Auroros Isle."

"AUROROS?!" Hiccup choked on his own saliva, "Why?!" Auroros was at least a week away on Toothless if they managed to go most of the way hardly stopping to eat or sleep and kept a breakneck pace the whole way.

"We're out of Ardala leaves." Stoic explained simply, as if this statement settled everything and it was a perfectly reasonable thing to ask of his son. "With full winter approaching we'll need them. We have a lot of older Vikings and children here."

Ardala leaves were known for making a tea which would allow the drinker to recover faster from ailments that commonly occur in the harsh climate of winter, but that winter would be upon them in roughly a month. Also there was the property of the plant itself. While the leaves were beneficial if properly handled, the pollen of the plant was supposedly dangerous. Specially trained farmers knew how to harvest the plant without harming themselves and passed the secret on to their children who were told otherwise to never go near the adult plants. Hiccup then thought about leaving Astrid for that long. He loved her with all his heart but he seriously doubted that their mild relationship status was solid enough to weather that kind of prolonged absence and if something were to happen to delay his returning…

All of these things played on Hiccup's face as the accompanying thoughts jumbled themselves in his brain as all the while, Stoic stood awaiting the only answer he wished to hear. Instead of the desired response, Hiccup instead asked, "Wouldn't this be cutting it pretty close? I mean, devastating winter is coming soon isn't it?"

Stoic stood grim and firm in his resolve. He seemed to have no wish to spare the boy, "That's why I'm sending you, son. You're the most experienced rider on the fastest dragon on the island. If you leave today or tomorrow you'll miss the storms in plenty of time."

Hiccup approached his father pleadingly, who in turn had already done him the subtle dishonor of walking slowly in the opposite direction. He could hear Toothless waiting impatiently behind him but he chose to ignore the shuffling sounds of the dragon. "Dad, what if I don't want to go?"

Stoic turned around and stared at Hiccup disapprovingly. "It's not a matter of want. I need you to take your duties to the village seriously. I won't be chief forever."

"There's a scary thought." Hiccup mumbled under his breath.

"Don't I know it!" Stoic caught the remark and added truthfully without malice, "But that's the way of it. You need to learn to do what's best for your people." He continued thereby interrupting his son before the first syllable of protest could be uttered, "They WILL be your people. You need to start realizing that." Stoic again started to walk away. He called over his shoulder, "I recommend you leave at first light tomorrow."

Hiccup kicked at the snow next to his house and was rewarded by loosening a small avalanche which happily buried him as it fell off the roof. Toothless rumbled in dragon laughter while Hiccup unburied himself and then mounted the waiting dragon in a huff. He swore under his breath as he nudged Toothless with his boot and took to the skies.

After a few hours of maneuvering Toothless through craggy rocks, wavy seas and over clouds, Hiccup had calmed down enough to think and the dragon had enough exercise to satisfy for the time being. Hiccup felt hunger start to gently gnaw at his insides and he realized finally that he had been in such a rush to get away from his father and his responsibilities that he had neglected to eat breakfast or lunch as it had also passed. He steered Toothless into the privacy of the cove and once on the ground, stacked wood for a cooking fire then found a stick which would be suitable for a half decent spit. Hiccup took a fish from his bag and tossed it to Toothless who was happy for the treat and quickly swallowed the little morsel.

Hiccup put the fish on the spit and replied, "Hey bud, you mind giving me a hand?" Toothless opened his large mouth and spat lightning fire at the wood, igniting it instantly. "Thanks." Hiccup grinned and placed the spit over the fire.

He woke with a start and realized he must have been napping though it could not have been very long as the fish had not yet burnt to a crisp. Hiccup smiled at his good fortune and taking the fish off the spit, took an eager bite. He nearly choked as a sudden blow from behind just about knocked the piece of fish right down his throat.

"That's for hiding from me." Astrid chuffed as Hiccup recovered and swallowed the remainder of his bite of cod. The lingering dull pain on the back of his head informed him that he was probably going to have a small bruise in honor of the transaction. Astrid pulled him into a rough kiss, his eyes wide in surprise though he had received this treatment numerous times before. "And this is for being easy to find."

He did not like the thought of being completely surprised and thought it would be good to soften the blow that his news of departure were likely to cause and so without really thinking about the possibility of consequences, he grabbed Astrid and pulled her across his lap where he proceeded to kiss her with much more passion than she ever gave him.

"Take that." He thought with a smile.

"Well played!" Astrid breathed, though Hiccup had trouble reading her facial expression as being either surprised or confused by his sudden bold move. It was not the first time he had tried to let her know that he was available to advance if she was, but she never seemed to have the desire to go beyond the comfortable bounds she had set on that first day. Over a year ago Hiccup had awoke from a week long coma from his triumph over the legendary Red Death. In the battle which had nearly killed him and where he lost his foot in the explosion, Astrid had come to realize her feelings for the skinny Viking, or did she? Hiccup had awoke to find his home of Berk changed and the dragon war over and then there was Astrid; SMACK, a punishment for scaring her with his near death. He was almost knocked off his feet. Then she had kissed him in front of the whole village! That was over a year ago and what had changed since? The fact was simply that Astrid never showed him affection in public anymore and very rarely in private.

The questions nagged at him throughout the day as the two Vikings hung out, gathered roots to add to the dry winter stores and with the aid of their two dragons, assisted the fishermen haul in nets full of fresh fish. By twilight the two were walking back towards the village on the main path. Astrid still chattering on about Stormfly and her experimental diet, their practice drills, a new maneuver they were working on. It was small talk, Hiccup knew that. They had had this conversation and countless like it many times before. Finally Hiccup could not take it anymore.

"Astrid." He interrupted her in mid-sentence, making her face contort slightly in irritation. He continued once he knew he had gotten her attention, "What's going on with us?"

"What do you mean Hiccup?" She lied.

"You know full well what I mean." Hiccup put his hands up in the air while Toothless watched on with a small degree of interest. Stormfly still looked straight ahead and tried not to disturb too many low hanging branches in her way. Hiccup took an exasperated breath and continued, "I've loved you since before I could remember and I have no idea what's going on in this relationship!" He looked Astrid right in the eye and waited for a response.

Astrid continued walking but looked down at her boot as she did so, her voice low and solemn, "Neither do I." Hiccup was a little taken aback but giving her one last look and seeing her face brought reality home; he believed her. As close to the village as they were, it suddenly felt miles away in the silence and Hiccup resolved himself to leave at first light. Maybe when he got back things would change, or maybe they could sit down and have a proper discussion about it. She was the only one for him, surely she must have known that, so why all the stalling?

Hiccup had ultimately failed trying to work things out with Astrid. His final indicator was delivered in the form of a halfhearted peck on the cheek and a mumbled goodnight. He had gone to bed feeling angry, tossed and turned all night, then ended up waking feeling like he never slept and with a sore neck to boot. He packed his provisions; the harness got rigged to himself and his beloved dragon even as his father still slept in the predawn gloom. Some minutes later Hiccup kicked up the freshly fallen powdered snow as Toothless soared from the hillside of Berk village and towards the open sea.

Astrid lay in her bed and lay pondering many of the same questions which had plagued Hiccup the night before. She heard the unique sounds of the only Night Fury on Berk as it flew off with Hiccup away from home and she knew that she was one of the reasons he had decided to go. A single tear trailed down her porcelain cheek and turned cold before it ever reached her chin. She knew that she missed him already and wished him safe while she promised herself that when he got back, she would get serious and stop being so damned stubborn as to allow herself to appreciate his advances. Mostly however, she would tell him the words she held silent on her tongue the whole time they had been together. "I love you." She whispered to the empty room. There was no reply, just the ever quieter cry of the dragon getting smaller and smaller in the distance.


	3. Chapter 3 - Surrealism - 6 days ago

Chapter 3: Surrealism - 6 Days Ago

Things were so much easier in the air. The boundless infinity stretched in front of them in the form of waves under cloud, blue skies rising up into the endless void and no sound other than the wind to be heard. Hiccup felt free and alive with the powerful dragon under him as they got further from the source of his malcontent. He wondered if it was the same for others that their homes were all they knew and nothing big usually ever happened. If it was a place where the people were rooted in tradition and boys grew up to be bored old men with nothing new and exciting to make their blood course quickly in their veins. Hiccup furrowed his brow in silent contemplation as he thought that maybe that was why some of the tribes fought so damn much. At least they would not be bored. Hiccup stayed on that track for a while until it became apparent that they should likely need a break from flying. It had been several hours after all and the sun had gone more than half the distance from one horizon to the other. Another few hours it would be dark and Hiccup decided that he should not go at breakneck speeds to reach Auroros after all. He would perhaps give Astrid and his father more time to think if he was gone longer and he was in no mood to hurry back to more missions, halfhearted affections and bruised shoulders.

Eventually they found a nice little spot to settle down though it had taken them longer than Hiccup had wanted and so Toothless was grateful to touch down and rest for a little while. They spiraled down as they reduced speed and touched ground on a grassy bed near a rocky alcove. There looked to be plenty of places to block the wind and take shelter in the event of weather and rocks on the beach which would be put to good use making a campfire pit.

Hiccup found a long stick which he used to absentmindedly poke at tiny pebbles near the water's edge. "I don't get it bud." He spoke to the dragon without turning to look at him. Toothless in turn lifted his head up at the sound of Hiccup's voice. Hiccup flicked the stick into the air and watched it touch down a short distance away on the water. "I think I've just about tried everything to get Astrid to notice me." He looked back at Toothless who had lost interest and put his head back down on the pebbles. Hiccup started picking up some of the bigger pebbles and forcibly threw them into the sea after the stick. "I killed the Red Death for Odin's sake! What does she want me to do, harness the moon? Ouch! Hey!" Hiccup fell over as Toothless used his mighty tail to whack his rider over the back of the head, then turned around so as his back was facing his friend and curled up again.

Hiccup walked back around to look at Toothless' face to face, "Yeah but, don't you think it's unfair? Ouch! Toothless!" Toothless smacked him once again to get the point across then slowly got up and walked a short distance away with the hopes of being involved in no more trivial human musings. Toothless left Hiccup staring at him in disbelief next to the unfinished campfire and sat down on the grass. It was showing signs of frost but still contained some of its vitality and pallor. The dragon seemed content and Hiccup was sure that this island was much too small to contain any sort of settlement and so felt comfortable leaving his best friend for a short time. He put his issues aside thinking about the work he had to do anyway; there was a fire to build, wood to collect and fish to catch.

"Fish!" He cried with his sudden excitement at a memory and got the attention of the Night Fury. "It's okay bud, I brought the new net. Want to try it out?" Hiccup rummaged in one of the two supply pouches he had packed early that morning to try and locate said net. Toothless decided to pretend he didn't hear his trainer and closed his eyes with a sigh. Hiccup smirked, "Fine, but you'll still have to be the one who hauls it in if you want to eat tonight." With eyes closed Toothless snorted and relaxed into a doze.

Hiccup found the net with a shrug and managed to untangle it, marveling at the lightweight rope he had helped weave with one of his new inventions back on Berk. "How can they not appreciate all this?" he asked himself out loud. "Bigger isn't always better…" Well he would like to believe that. His work incorporated lightweight designs that were suited to be used by someone of his stature and in the case of one of the so called 'real Vikings' they could be manipulated or thrown as the case may be, at speeds which should have not been humanly possible. Why then did they still insist on the largest broadswords, the heaviest maces and the most unwieldy bolas?

Hiccup sighed and cast the net into the ocean and admired his contribution of its creation. He could make dozens of these and make fishing so much easier for the Vikings whose job it was to help supply the town with their most important food source. "Yeah right." He said out loud again. "They wouldn't use this if I gift-wrapped it for them." He reluctantly started collecting rocks for his fire while he waited for morsels to find their way into his trap.

The fire pit was finally built and filled with sticks and kindling ready for the flame. Hiccup did not mind being completely alone from time to time though he did prefer the company of his beloved dragon and would often find him talking to himself or Toothless, even if Toothless was not within earshot. He had been talking to himself the day he found Toothless in the woods after he had so unmercifully shot the magnificent dragon down with another of his inventions. Maybe he was lonely and simply needed to vocalize his thoughts to someone even though there was no one there. He did not know, but what he did know was that it was time to wake the sleeping and snoring dragon. As he closed the distance between himself and the sleeping beast he heard a sound which made him stop before he reached his friend and wait in the sudden eerie silence. There it was again, louder this time and more desperate. A scream! Hiccup forgot about waking toothless and headed in the direction of the offending sound which seemed to be coming from a cave somewhere further down the beach.

His breathing became a little more rapid the further he had to go and the longer he followed the sound, the more he realized they were actually further away than he had originally speculated. He was quite out of breath by the time he did manage to get to the mouth of the cave and by that time the screaming had seemed to cease though a sickening smell told him that he was probably close. He edged into the mouth of the cave cautiously, allowing his eyes a chance to adjust in the gloom of the cave. At least it was not too dark yet and the position of the sun was such that there was some visibility to be had in the dark tunnel. Hiccup was not sure what the appropriate thing to do next was.

"H-hello?" He called into the blackness, "Is someone hurt?" His voice echoed down the tunnel and bounced back to him so that he could hear the tone of his own uncertainty. A noise was starting to come out of the tunnel and it sounded like a creature was fast approaching. It sounded big and as it came closer to the mouth of the cave Hiccup wondered what kind of trouble he had gotten into this time.

Preparing for the worst, Hiccup dove behind some large rocks just inside the dank cave as the noise came swiftly bearing down on him. Almost immediately after confirming his safety and convinced that he was out of sight, the source of the noise reached his position and started to pass him by. Hiccup could see them better once they were out into the light which was now starting to ebb off as twilight came to the tiny refuge.

Terrible Terrors had made all that noise? There were three of them and they had something in tow that looked bloodied and dead in the talons of its aggressors. At first Hiccup thought it was their kill, that there was some sort of animal in the cave that could sustain the small but deadly creatures. It was certainly hard to tell what the mangled creature was through all the red until… teal? Hiccup's heart dropped in his chest with a thud as he felt dread take over and he wondered what he should do; the creature in the claws of the cackling Terrors could only have been another dragon.


	4. Chapter 4 - One of Their Own- 6 Days Ago

Chapter 4: One of Their Own - 6 Days Ago  
Hiccup could not bear to watch as the three Terrible Terrors flew past with the smaller dragon in tow. The little one was not moving and Hiccup somehow felt like he had to intervene else allow the poor dragon to die. Even if the other Terrors were in fact the saviors of the unfortunate victim, Hiccup doubted they had the ability to save their quarry; it simply looked too far gone. Without really thinking about consequences, Hiccup did the only thing he could come up with the limited resources a cave opening on the beach could provide. He picked up a small rock and threw it at the departing dragons with as much force and accuracy as he could manage. He prayed to the gods that he would not hit the tiny dragon and was promptly rewarded with a resounding clunk as the rock hit the dragon on the rear of the procession. The orange dragon gave out a squeal as it let go of his loot, slowing the pace of the other two who then struggled to hold their share and fly at the same time.  
Hiccup was about to unleash a second projectile when the orange Terror made a sound which could only have been a battle signal which caused the two in front to drop the injured dragon and make a bee line straight for their aggressor.  
"Uh-oh." Hiccup groaned as the Terrors emitted as mighty a roar as they could muster. As they descended on Hiccup, not unlike hunting birds diving in to finish off a wounded rabbit, a louder dragon scream could be heard which would have shaken Hiccup's conviction had he no clue what was happening.  
The Night Fury came thundering across the beach having followed the familiar scent trail of his human. The Terrors were not much of a match for anyone one on one, but three against one could cause potential problems as they were fast and could attack from multiple angles at once.  
The Terrors were closing in on him, hissing their malcontent at the actions of the boy who had so thoughtlessly interrupted their sport. How dare he? He had to pay. They were getting closer than what Hiccup felt was comfortable, one even started to stick his long pink tongue out at Hiccup's boot. A second was licking his lips to the right while the third was preparing a fire blast on the left. One of the Terrors made a jump for the tender meat of Hiccup's good leg but teeth never had the opportunity to graze bone as the unique sound of the Night Fury's lightning filled the chilled air and blasted the Terror who dare try and take a bite out of Hiccup.  
While the first dragon was recovering the second one thought it would be a good idea to give the attack her best try as the others were distracted but got tackled by the much bigger dragon before it could make a serious attempt. Toothless pinned the small dragon to the cold stone ground and roared loud enough to make her dizzy. She yelped and winced her eyes shut in preparation of an end that never came. Toothless let her go and gave her a parting swat on her hind quarters as she departed with her tail between her legs. She surely did not want to be eaten and could only have assumed the bigger dragon wanted to consume the boy himself.  
With his two friends either gone or subdued, the third had decided to do the only sensible thing that one could expect when this sort of situation arises: he turned tail and flew away to the West, never be seen in this area again. Some fights were just not worth it but he made sure to take one last shot at the downed Terror as he passed, an inhuman cackle escaping his scaly lips as he boy made a desperate move to aid the ruined animal on the rocks.  
Hiccup reached the victim of the dragon attack with Toothless following close behind. Hiccup was somewhat horrified to be this close to the wounded creature and see the extent of the injuries it had sustained. After some poking and prodding Hiccup was astounded and sickened to discover that the dragon was a Terror like the three who had apparently tried to kill one if their own. It was either very young or a runt but still a Terror and damaged to the point that Hiccup was not sure if the creature could continue its existence.  
"Why did they do this to you?" He asked tenderly, but the little dragon did not open its eyes even as Hiccup picked it up gently and gingerly carried it back to the supplies. There were some bandages in the bag and Hiccup hoped that maybe if he could patch the small dragons wounds, it would somehow recover and be able to hunt again. With trembling fingers Hiccup transported the dragon as swiftly as he could though was having trouble trying to focus when he was not used to handling one with injuries to such severity.  
Toothless let out a tentative rumble and followed Hiccup back to the camp. With the opposing Terrors long gone, Hiccup could tend to the runt under the watchful eye of the Night Fury. Time seemed to pass at a crawl and the unrelenting darkness of night would have consumed the campsite if Toothless had not started the fire which Hiccup had built earlier. Hiccup was doubly thankful for the cheerful heat it emitted which warmed his fingers and made it a little easier to do his grim work. The only time he stopped even briefly during the duration of the delicate application of bandages was to check and re-check that the little one was still in possession of a pulse.  
"Finally." Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief and marveled at his handy work in patching up the runty terror. Hiccup had never boasted to be a master of first aid but he had used all of his understanding and care into ensuring that the little dragon was taken care of to the absolute best of his abilities. "Now," he mused thoughtfully, "what are we going to call you?"  
The Terror was very small but based on the rings at the base of the horns, it was definitely full grown. Hiccup had observed over the last year that often he could more or less discern the age of certain dragons using this method. Of course, it was only a guess and did not apply whatsoever in the case of Toothless who seemed somewhat curious of the new dragon in his arms.  
"You're a Hiccup..." he could hear Toothless snort a comment over his shoulder.

"We'll duh." He scoffed, "Of course we're not going to call her that. She's cooler than that." He looked at the scales he had not covered in bandages, few though they were and admired her teal body. "How about 'Flyspeck'?" He asked with a smirk. Toothless, somewhat less than impressed, let out a questioning rumble. "What?" Asked Hiccup innocently, "It means 'small'". Flyspeck, now properly dubbed remained unconscious and oblivious to her new title though Hiccup was sure that she would like it. He reached into his pack and got out the extra blanket which he had originally intended to use as a pillow while on their travels. He quickly unfurled it and with the utmost care, proceeded to gingerly swaddle Flyspeck until anyone who had not known better, would swear that Hiccup was smuggling an infant.

That evening Hiccup slept with his back resting on Toothless' stomach and Flyspeck wrapped in a bundle on his lap. It was surprisingly comfortable to feel the rhythms of each dragon as he fell asleep. Hiccup felt safe knowing that Toothless would be vigilant while dozing and that he Terrors were not likely to come back to the same spot for a while after their encounter. When morning came, Hiccup prepared a basket for Flyspeck and placed the bundle gently inside. He then secured the bundle and the basket to the front of his saddle so he could remain watchful to the tiny reptile while she hopefully recovered from her wounds.  
"Alright bud," Hiccup patted Toothless once he had completed he pre-flight checks, "let's go!"  
Toothless took off like a shot into the crystal clear skies towards the elusive Auroros Island which was still days away.

He next few days were fairly tedious in that the group would fly for hours, find a safe spot, make camp, eat and rest for the night. Any other dragons they came across were generally flying in the opposite direction or else regarded the trio as nothing more than a brief curiosity. Flyspeck became responsive two days after her ordeal and was open enough to allow Hiccup to feed her by hand. It did not take much time for the dragon to become trusting of her new human and Hiccup in turn took excellent care of his new charge. Two more days of travelling passed and Flyspeck regained enough use in her wings to take short flights near Toothless as they got ever closer to their destination. "Another few days and you should be almost as good as new." Hiccup remarked though he still wondered why the other dragons had gone after her. Maybe she had something that the others had wanted, or maybe because she was a hiccup. He let out a sigh of resignation; he would probably never know although the tiny reptile seemed happy enough since the majority of the wounds had started to heal over and were destined to be fairly impressive scars. If Hiccup had been paying more attention to what was happening around him and less time marveling at the resiliency of dragons, he might have been prepared for the disaster that was just minutes away from striking.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Hero Falls -12 hours ago

**Chapter 5 - The Hero Falls - 12 hours ago**  
It was peaceful, much too peaceful. In fact, the sheer stillness and absolute quiet which had led Hiccup, Flyspeck and even Toothless off guard should have been indicative of impending doom.  
It came first from the ocean which had begun to churn and froth far below the travelers and made the playful cresting waves suddenly a torrent of chaos.  
"Easy bud." Hiccup patted Toothless while maintaining a skeptical eye on the waters below. "What is that?" Hiccup then heard a noise which sounded like a half strangled rat which immediately preceded a terrified Flyspeck to come barreling hard into Hiccup to seek shelter. Hiccup tried to pry the tiny Terror off of his lap but could not succeed and soon found the nose horn was digging deeper and deeper into the soft area just below his rib cage. "Flyspeck!" Hiccup tried again to dislodge the small dragon to no avail when he noticed that Toothless had also change in demeanor and grunt his uneasiness. "Toothless? What's happening bud?" Hiccup asked nervously and could see that the waters were much more treacherous than they had been just a few short minutes ago. As much as Hiccup was curious about the source of the unrest, he also knew better than to discount the cues Toothless had provided. If the Night Fury had justifiable reason to be uneasy then he did too. Hiccup wondered if they should continue to Auroros on their current route or take a less direct path which would avoid whatever it was down there but add more time to the trip.  
"We have to go through." He tried so hard to sound determined but little strands of uncertainty had found their way into Hiccups unconscious thoughts and were gnawing at his resolve. "Keep looking Toothless," Hiccup cautioned, "I don't want any surprises okay?" Toothless issued a grunt of acknowledgement while little Flyspeck, as seemingly oblivious as always, instead emitted a mighty roar just a little too close to Hiccup's ear. "Gee, thanks." Hiccup furrowed his brow and resumed visually scanning the area for trouble.  
Trouble made them wait and as they had several hours to begin to believe that nothing was going to happen beyond the visual spectacle they had been party to the whole time, they had eventually become used to it and thus complacent. Toothless had gradually relaxed and little Flyspeck had dozed off on Hiccup who had in turn gave up looking for changes in the turbulence and instead let his mind wander to thoughts of his father and Astrid. It had been nearly a week since he had seen them and in his absence he had time to get over his initial anger and start to miss them both, though gods knew they had a knack of aggravating him on occasion. Astrid would have had time to figure out their undefined relationship by then. He had to have faith in that. The gods could not be so cruel as to plant the object of his affection into his thoughts at childhood only to have his lifelong pursuit of her end in vain. She gave more attention to Hiccup than any other male on the whole island which had to mean something. Time was probably all they required. Maybe things would be different when he got home or he could try something drastic. He loved her too much to let it fizzle out into oblivion.  
A near miss with a flying and unidentifiable projectile was sufficient to snap the daydreamer back into reality. It came so close as to be felt as a tingle on the tip of his hair as it rocketed past and arched back, then landed harmlessly into the turbulent ocean. Hiccup called out something startled and incoherent as he steered Toothless into a steep turn which woke Flyspeck and made her issue a squawking dragon scream. Another ball of what looked like it must have been electrified water flew in their path, this time to the right and was again narrowly maneuvered around. Two more such occurs and finally the trio laid eyes on their assailant and would likely have thought it beautiful had it not been trying to exterminate them.  
"What in Odin's name is that?!" Hiccup practically screamed to Toothless who could not answer as he was busy dodging more and more of the deadly orbs. There were several dragons in the air now and as more joined the fray, the ocean gradually became a little less frothy. One thing that Hiccup noted was that this was only one species of dragon and it was completely foreign to him as he had never before encountered anything like it nor was it an entry in the book of dragons. They were not overly large, but they seemed to get their power from the elements as water and energy made up their weaponry. Their wings looked more like tentacle fins and there were more tentacle like appendages at various points of the body especially at the base and the tip of the tail. They had varying patterns and intensity of colour, but all of them were shades of the same blues and blue-whites. All of them looked angry and all of them followed the one who seemed to be the leader, the only thing which seemed to distinguish it from the others was the intensity of the blue stripes on its flank. The sapphire certainly was something worth admiring until it signaled the others into attack.  
"Toothless!" Hiccup screamed in alarm as his dragon doubt wildly to stay ahead of the offending dragons. They were lucky to avoid the long range attacks to point and escape looked hopeful until that luck finally ran out and Toothless was abruptly put off his path after taking a grazing hit to his right hip. Hiccup could feel both a splash and a shuddering surge of energy course through his friend and travel up from his metal leg until he could feel even his auburn hair start to tingle. "Oh no, Toothless, don't do it!" Hiccup shrieked at his best friend but to no avail. The offending dragons had started it and as futile as it was, Toothless had already lost enough speed from the hit to allow his foes to nearly catch them. He whirled around suddenly and let loose a lightning ball into the oncoming army of blue and white ocean dwellers. Some were able to dodge out of the way and narrowly miss the attack though one ended up taking the bolt full-on and fell into the sea only to be replaced by to more.  
"We can't win this bud," hiccup called in near panic, "we have to get out of here!" His response came in the form of a reluctant grunt as Toothless again tried to avoid another oncoming volley. They flew in a zigzag pattern, avoiding globules from all sides until a second shot struck home and Toothless shuddered from the electrical jolt to his system before he could fully appreciate the new pain he had discovered in his wing. Their speed was compromised and so it was almost no surprise to Hiccup when there was less off a gap between the second and third shots. The new one glanced off his dragons back bone only to hit his own and suddenly the world exploded in a blinding light as he was somehow both soaked and burned at the same time. He was stunned for a few moments where nothing existed but pain and white, gradually giving way to emotional shock as the enemy dragons had at last reach them. Land was in sight and though twilight was starting to make itself known and the land was already darkening, Hiccup could already make out the vast violet expanse which could only have been the Ardala plantations of Auroros. Hiccup wondered if they would be able to touch down and make it to safety when the onslaught changed from projectiles to claws and Hiccup heard the gut wrenching scream of his best friend as they wounded him and jolted his rider right out of the saddle.  
Flying through the air without the benefit of his dragon was horrifying enough without the added experience of suddenly having several dragons fighting over their spoils. Their claws reached out in uncoordinated grasps which tore Hiccup's riding harness to shreds along with his tunic and a fair amount of skin. Hiccup was stunned as he felt each laceration tear his sensitive flesh over and over and still he had not hit the ground. He could not see Toothless anymore and could only hope that he had escaped their plight. And where was little Flyspeck who had been nursed back to health by the kindness of this human who was now injured and falling? Hiccup caught sight of her finally; flying in the opposite direction, small enough as to be not worth the effort from the others.  
Just when Hiccup was sure he was about to end his tormenting plummet towards death, one of the oceanic dragons made a last attempt to catch him so as to make him a meal. He was momentarily saved from the fall by the first dragon only to be put at risk by a second who tried to steal him away for herself but only managed to knock him from the claws of his original captor. Claws tried to capture him once more only to snag him at his middle and send incomprehensible pain coursing through his body. The shock was such that he had succumbed to it mere moments before hitting the ground with a sickening thud and was unaware of the impact. Over his head and unknown to him, two fighting dragons sailed by and lost sight of the boy who had landed in the one place they dare not go. They flew off to either find the dragon that had accompanied the boy but coming up fruitless, returned to the churning ocean in vain. All the while Hiccup lay in the field of violet flowers and remained until sometime later when the girl who shared her name with the blooms came to see what the commotion had been about. She saw him in the grass and recognized him though could not understand exactly what had happened or if she could move him to safety in time. The Ardala in its pure form could have already done its work, though that could be of advantage to one in possession of an agenda.


	6. Chapter 6 - Almost Awake - Day 5

**Chapter 6: Almost Awake - Day 5**  
He tried to see, but his vision had somehow failed him and revealed only muted colours and indistinguishable blurred figures before going back into one of his repeated cycles of black and unknowing. He would try to remember himself only to come back empty handed; his head felt like a mason jar which someone had cracked open and spilled the precious contents. He tried to speak, inquire as to his whereabouts or to utter some exclamation of tortuous pain but somehow only managed impotent grunts and clouded mumbles. His fevered dreams were tormented and his brief moments of half consciousness were terrifying and ineffective at giving him either answers or comfort and so he existed for five days, surviving on broth brought by the girl who had found him that first night and had brought him safely to her home. She had brought the healers and assisted them when they worked together to frantically stop the bleeding and get every wound as clean as possible, apply stitches where necessary and to finally get everything covered with bandages. Hiccup had been placed in a bed and laid to rest but with as much damage as he had sustained, people had been left to watch and tend to him constantly at first to allow him his best chance for survival in those first few days. Ardala sat next to the bed when she was not required to be elsewhere. As the chiefs daughter she had responsibilities of her own though the dark haired girl made as much time as possible to spend by his side and made the chicken broth fused with healing flowers which she gently fed him when he seemed to drift into consciousness.

"Thank the gods, you're awake!" The girl who looked at him seemed both relieved and surprised. He saw that her green eyes were full of concern and her long dark hair was unkempt as though she had been neglecting in its care as of late.  
His mouth was parched and he croaked when he tried to utter a single word, "water?" He groaned slowly and was mildly surprised at how eager his benefactor was at his request. She reached over and held his head with one hand while gently put the wooden cup to his lips with the other. He weakly submitted and noted the stiffness he seemed to possess throughout his whole body.  
"Is that better?" She asked once the cup had been replaced to the little table by the bed.  
He nodded slightly and tried to take inventory of his surroundings which seemed utterly foreign and soon gave way to preoccupation. He could see the beams in the wooden ceiling, a small hole near its centre to allow smoke from the cheerful fire to escape harmlessly. There were ornate designs carved on everything that would take them and added charm to the dwelling where he lay. Near his resting place was the small sturdy and carved wooden table with the earthen picture and small wooden cup.  
He tried to get up to see more but was thwarted in the attempt when his battered body betrayed him. "GAH!" He choked as every torment asserted itself at once. His eyes winced shut and he ground his teeth as his head bore a deep indent in the pillow in a vain attempt to escape the internal onslaught.  
"Oh no!" The girl next to the bed seemed panicked at his movement, "You need to rest. You probably won't be able to get out of bed for a while."  
"What happened?" He panted as the pain once again began to subside. His jaw unlocked and he slowly relaxed, his breathing evened out gradually while his muscles eventually unclenched.  
"What do you remember?" She asked him instead and waited patiently for an answer as she poured more water from the picture into the same wooden cup. She gently dabbed a cloth in a steaming bowl of water and dabbed it gently on his forehead. That hurt him too, but the warm cloth soothed the aggravated laceration as it cleaned.  
He had to think about her question and felt his heart quicken when he realized that he genuinely did not know. His eyes grew wide and he looked about the room though his focus was instead on searching his brain for some inkling as to what happened. He finally gave up as there was nothing to grasp in the empty vessel which was his conscious mind. "Nothing at all. I don't remember. Everything's gone... What happened to me?"  
"Dragon attack." She replied in a tone which held only finality but earned her no reward only the empty stare of the boy in the bed. "I'm serious!" She entreated but he still just stared. Sighing she tried a different approach. "I'm Ardala." She gently patted his hand instead of shaking the appendage which was bound and apparently attached to a broken arm.  
"Like the flower." He observed, but surprised himself because he realized immediately after he said it that he had no idea how he knew that little tidbit of information.  
"Yes, exactly." She nodded enthusiastically. "Now, do you remember who you are?"  
He thought but again came up blank. "I heard someone calling out in my dream. I'm sure they said my name." He frowned, "I can't remember who it was or what they were calling so sorry, but no."  
"No, don't be sorry." Ardala smiled sympathetically. "You've been through a lot. When I found you that night and saw the damage..." She had trouble looking him in the eye as if reliving the gruesome spectacle. "I thought you were dead and I was scared that I wouldn't be able to bring you to the healers in time if you were still alive."  
There was a brief silence until he finally dared to break it in an effort to ease the tension, his mind racing with multitudes of questions that seemed to have no end or order to which they should be asked. "So what is it?"  
Ardala looked up from her cream and maroon dress where she had been absently staring, its hem gathered haphazardly on the floor as though she had not considered the expensive looking fabric. "Sorry, what?"  
"My name." He actually found it in him to smile faintly once their green eyes had once again met. "What's my name?"  
"Oh! Right!" She cried, and then smiled in turn, "It's Hiccup."  
Hiccup scrunched up his nose as he said the syllables. "Hiccup... Not much of a name." He shrugged as best as his body would let him "I guess it could be worse."  
Ardala chuckled, "You have no idea."  
"So..." Hiccup tried to ascertain what to cover first now that his name was known. "How did we meet?"  
Ardala blushed and allowed her hair to cover the left half of her face as she looked at the floor. She would have probably been adorable if her features had lacked the shadow of responsibility placed on her by her title. It made Hiccup wonder when she had last had fun. "Well, technically we didn't meet in person until now." She saw that he looked somewhat confused and so explained. "As the daughter of the chief, some of my learning includes travelling to other places to observe diplomatic situations with other tribes. We were visiting your tribe for a trade agreement and treaty signing about oh…" she looked up at the ceiling briefly, "three summers ago and I had seen some kids playing while my dad was arranging things with the chief. I had heard it all before so I slipped off to see what kids from a new tribe did for fun."  
"And that's when you saw me?" Hiccup asked.  
"Not at first." She explained, "The kids went to the forge, which I thought was a bit odd, until I saw they were picking on the boy who was tending the fire. They called him horrible names and when he didn't give into their taunts, they took his tools and tossed them to each other. The poor thing tried to get them back but one of the boys was almost twice his size and just laughed, then pushed him into the ash."  
"Ah," Hiccup reasoned, and nodded his head slowly in resignation "so that was me. It Figures."  
"I'm Afraid so." Ardala nodded. "They were so mean to you, but I think you're strong because you got right back up and went back to work without a sound." Hiccup noticed Ardala had started to wring her hands and nipped her lip with one of her teeth as she went on without looking directly at him. "I wanted to run up and talk to you but the forge master came back and my dad was calling for me. The treaty was signed and it was time to head back here. I'm glad I did get to meet you, though it's too bad that it had to be like this." She patted his leg under the blanket gently, "though I'm glad you're alive."  
Hiccup warmed at the thought and let it process. He supposed that he really only had two options; either figure out his life and go back to it, or make a new one in Auroros if the first idea failed. "How far away is this village of mine?"  
"Oh, weeks away." Ardala looked at the ceiling as she reminisced. "We practically lived on the boat for almost two seasons just to get there and back." She paused to smile at him, looking him directly in the eye this time, "it was worth it." She reached over to the small table again and this time brought him the familiar chicken broth. She gently spooned a small amount into his mouth and watched as he allowed the flavour to spread over his tongue. The taste was heavenly and he eagerly consumed more as it was offered.  
"Alright," Hiccup was subtly trying to asses various parts of his anatomy by testing what could be flexed or wiggled even on some minute scale and was met with personal opposition throughout the process. "Inventory." He stated, "how much trouble did I get in? I better had been doing something awesome to end up like this." He waited but Ardala looked confused. Hiccup added, "Well I didn't fall off a roof did I? At least tell me it was something cool. What?"  
"Hiccup," Ardala said with an edge of concern. "I told you already. Dragons did this to you. There were bite and claw marks all over you, not to mention the burns. I think they must have tried to eat you and then somehow managed to drop you which is when I think you got the broken bones. The right arm was broken in two places, two of the ribs, bruising on the legs and four more ribs. We had to stitch part of the left arm, chest and stomach. The rest of the damage was minor by comparison. You have scratches and bruises just about everywhere. We think you may have also fractured your skull."  
Hiccup was dumbfounded by this news and was not sure how to respond. "I can't feel my toes on the left side. Did I break my leg too?"  
Ardala looked at the sheet with regret. "I'm not sure how to tell you this," she started slowly, "but that leg was missing before the rest of this happened. You were wearing a prosthetic when I found you." she looked sympathetic at the unreadable expression on his face. He could not wrap his head around what he had learned though on reflection he knew it was not much at all. There was so much about himself he did not know or the place he came from, if he had friends or a family waiting for him and exactly what sort of life he had been living until that moment. He may as well have started out his existence that night in the Ardala field since everything prior to that was simply gone.  
His head had started to cloud again though he did not want to give in to the lulls of sleep. He realized that he had been afraid of not waking when he had drifted before. He tried to fight it but soon found his eyes heavy. It was a little too unreal; how had he lost his leg? He could not focus on it anymore and it was one of the only places that were not giving him pain and so he let himself close his eyes for a moment and not dwell on it. His eyes felt so heavy...  
"That's enough for now Hiccup." Ardala said gently as she had him take one more sip of the broth. His eyes were already closed and his mouth was beginning to slacken. "You'll feel better soon." He could hear the bowl touch down though the sound suddenly seemed muffled and far away. He felt afraid then, as if transitioning into an unknown that still held the possibility of no return. "Please..." He mumbled, "...don't want to be... Alone...~*" His voice trailed off before he could hear Ardala's response.


	7. Chapter 7 - Life begins - Day 8

**Chapter 7 – Life Begins – Day 8** A few days later Hiccup's wounds were closed enough that he could get out of bed with help, though he was still very sore and had to take it slow as to try and rediscover his body. He delighted that he seemed to have no extra difficulty walking on his odd-looking prosthetic and surmised that he indeed must of had it for a considerable while. Walking with Ardala in the brisk morning automatically made him feel more rejuvenated. It was awful to have to stay indoors for as long as he had. The fresh air and the scent on the wind made him feel like he had more freedom though it bothered him that he had no inkling of his life prior to being dropped out of the sky. As they worked around the village their pacing was slow and they paused every so often to allow Hiccup to take brief rests. His bruised and broken ribs were thankful for the small relief it gave them and expressed in the form of allowing him to take deeper breaths than he had been able just a few long, boring and tedious days ago. "So where is your dad?" Hiccup asked casually. "I mean, won't he find it weird to come home from some crusade and find some strange guy living with his daughter?" He emitted a nervous chuckle and stared off into the distance. It was another one of those times he was simply trying to fill he silence with a sound but he almost regretted saying it as soon as he syllables had left his mouth. Ardala gave him an inquiring look, "Dad is on yet another diplomatic mission." Her eyes rolled as she said it, implying this happened more often than not. "Why, do you think he would mind?" "Well no. Maybe. Well..." hiccup said with a smirk, "I just figured he would have some questions for me. 'Excuse me lad'" he said with a fake accent and while feigning a deeper voice for the impersonation, "'I'm afraid you'll have to be leaving so as not to infringe on the honour of my fair lass'". Ardala giggled, "He does not sound like that!" "Oh I don't know," hiccup smiled crookedly, "I bet a lot of fathers sound that way when their daughters are involved." Which elicited an uncontrolled giggle from Ardala "We'll the accent is all wrong." She smiled warmly at Hiccup. She admired the way his hair caught the light and the life that had reasserted itself in his beautiful green eyes just from not being confined to the bed anymore. "Besides," she added with a blush, "You're not that strange at all. I find you really sweet." She looked thoughtful and Hiccup contented himself just to walk and see the village with a companion while processing her compliment. It seemed like such a peaceful place, the sun was shining and though the first touches of winter were starting to creep into the thoughts of the people, there was still some time for children to play with not much heed to the cold. It made him smile to see all their happy faces as they ran about the village pretending to be dragons and the slayers who would always ultimately defeat them. "Happy to see you're up and about!" said a passer-by with a smile. She was wearing a knitted scarf but nothing on her hands which were weathered looking and tanned from being outdoors. "Thank you!" Hiccup replied as the woman moved on. There were thatched houses which suggested mild winters or at least tolerable ones where the people could spend colder days perhaps telling stories around a comfortable fire to the children. A man and woman had been walking together and also offered their congratulations on Hiccup's recovery. "Thank you very much." Hiccup nodded and received a tender squeeze on his shoulder from the woman and a gentle pat on his back from the man. He was pleasantly surprised at how friendly and genuine the people who lived in that place were to him, a complete stranger. Perhaps they had some sort of holiday tradition to fend off the cold and bring the community together. He then began to wonder what people did in his own village when winter came and he caught himself asking other internal questions when he finally noticed Ardala had stopped to talk to an elderly couple about something. The gentle breeze tugged at her dress in billows which spread and danced behind her in a mesmerizing array and betrayed some of her form underneath the folds. She was certainly beautiful and she was so kind an accepting of him. As he looked at her he began to feel guilty though surely his gaze was innocent enough and did not warrant the negative feeling. He reasoned that maybe it was because she was the daughter of the chief and he had no idea who he was. "No, thank you again though." She smiled and shook the hand of the man, then gently hugged the lady. Hiccup noticed a curious piece of fabric tied around the necks of the two and vaguely wondered what their purpose was when Ardala suddenly waved her departure to the people she had been talking to and hopped back to Hiccup like a girl who was suddenly a little younger than she had been just days ago. "Sorry about that." She quickly apologized with a smile while she absentmindedly took his left hand in her right. Hiccup startled slightly but she seemed oblivious to his mild discomfort. He looked back up and realized they were getting close to the edge of town and Ardala had been talking. Her hand was warmer than his and he suddenly changed his mind to welcome in its comfort. "So then I delegate the baskets and arrange for more to be made when they need them, ah here we go." They were standing in front of a narrow walkway through the trees which had been cut annually by the appearance of the rough boughs and sharp edges. The whole between then was only just big enough for two adults to walk abreast with little room for comfort between them. "Through there is the Ardala fields." Ardala pointed past a rise in the path beyond his line of sight. "I found you out there and had to get help to bring you back safely." He could not see anything of note and made a motion to get closer in order to perhaps see the fabled flowers but was stopped gently. "You can't go there." She explained while moving her face very close to his to look into his eyes. "We wear masks so we can breathe when we pick the flowers." Well at least that explained the odd-looking fabric. "What happens if you don't wear a mask?" Hiccup asked as they started back in the direction they had come. "We've been harvesting the flowers since before we had written history so we don't remember, but we know enough not to do it. Some say you get punished by the gods." "Seems like sound enough logic to me." Hiccup nodded and was content to walk hand in hand with Ardala until he started to get hungry. Back at the hut Ardala and hiccup shared in the preparation of a meal. They usually ate some sort of soup or stew, something with meat and fresh vegetables. There were many farms of assorted edible vegetation in town and livestock kept in pens throughout, in fact, most people with the exception of the daughter of the chief seemed to have pets or livestock running about and sometimes becoming a meal. "Do you guys ever eat fish?" Hiccup asked as he chopped a turnip in half with a knife too big to be taken seriously when it was wielded by him. "Not until the Seawings clear out. We can't get boats near the fish with that mess in the water." She stirred the pot, gave it a taste and added salt. She let it sit for a while before stirring again. Hiccup added the turnip, bumping into her as he put it in the pot with the other ingredients. "Sorry!" he cried awkwardly and jumped aside to get out of the way. "You don't have to be so nervous around me Hiccup. I dressed your wounds remember? Most of your clothes were destroyed in the attack." She said it with a sly grin as she stirred the pot in more ways than one while Hiccup found that his legs had suddenly turned to gelatin. Ardala almost hated what she had planned for the poor boy who was clearly innocent and in possession of many good qualities but her choice had to be made. When he turned his back to get the cups, she quickly and skillfully plunged a hand into her right pocket, grabbed her little vial and sprinkled some of its contents onto Hiccup's portion. "Hiccup, I've been thinking." She started as she placed the two plates carefully on the table. Hiccup finished placing cups, juice and utensils on the table and raised an eyebrow. "Am I in trouble?" "I don't think so. I think you may be someone important in your village." She gestured for him to sit down while she did the same. "Why would you think that?" He asked, fingering his wooden spoon absently. "You came alone and were probably sent here for some sort of diplomatic or retrieval mission." "I don't remember anything like that." Hiccup frowned, wanting to dig into his food and forget this conversation like everything else. "No, listen, it's good!" Ardala smiled somewhat shyly and Hiccup had no idea what was going on. As far as he was concerned, Ardala might have been thinking about this for some time and was many steps ahead of him. "Okay, why?" He gave in. "Part of the reason dad brought me on all those diplomatic missions was to see if any of the other tribes had a son who could be arranged for me." Hiccup looked half terrified and half confused. "So you think we should get married?! It's kinda sudden, don't you think?" "Not like tomorrow." She smiled at his awkwardness. "We should hang out first. I'm just saying, your memories may not come back and you could do a lot worse than the daughter of the chief." He tried to argue but she had a good point. He could have been nothing more than an apprentice blacksmith turned messenger boy for all he knew. Marrying Ardala would set him up for life but if his memories came back, maybe he would find out what had brought him to Auroros in the first place, or who. "I can't decide that right now." He said in a low voice with a bowed head. "Let's see what happens with my amnesia first. I mean, for all I know, I could be already betrothed!" He looked about in disbelief as if the words surprised them when he heard them out loud and from his own mouth. The food looked really appetizing but he was a little nauseous from the shocking conversation. Changing the conversation matter to something more palatable and was finally able to eat. The evening meal was pleasant enough and Hiccup felt he should get out just a little longer before it was time to rest for the night. Ardala bade him temporary leave to tend to a few last minute things and asked that he stay nearby to ensure his safety. "The dragons love to come out at night." She cautioned as she closed the door. Hiccup saw no reason to go very far anyway and so sat in a worn wooden chair with faded seats on the front porch. He curled up on the chair and admired the expanse of stars which blazed from one corner of the sky to the other in dazzling patterns. Something shifted out of the corner of his peripheral vision and left him to wonder if he had actually seen anything at all. He looked again, but saw nothing moving in the ring of trees that seemed to be protecting the village from view. "Is anyone out there?" He called softly to the black abyss. A strange guttural whine could be heard just beyond the thick tree line which made Hiccup decided that perhaps it was best if he went back inside and bolt the door against evil spirits. 


End file.
